Worried by the damage done to some parts of Queenstown and Kalaibiama communities in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, recently ravaged by erosion, President of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the United Brothers of Opobo Kingdom (UBOK), Mr. Mike Fubara has passionately appealed to the State Govrnor, Chief Nyesom Wike to come to the aid of the communities.
Fubara who made the appeal in Opobo Town while exchanging views with The Tide last Tuesday, lamented that various parts of the towns are currently under threat by erosion.
While noting that some self-help efforts embarked upon by indigenes of the erosion-prone areas had not yielded the required results, he stressed that unless the state government takes steps to rescue the affected towns, most habitable structures and fishing settlements as well as farmlands were at the risk of being washed away by erosion especially now that the rainy season is severe.
“If you visit places such as Queenstown, Kalasunju, Kalama which comprises Aya-Minimah, Okpukpo, Iloma, Oloma, Epellema and Ekereborokiri, Opobo Town, Kalaibiama and Nkoro communities this time, you will discover the enormity of the damage the erosion has done to these places”, he said. According to him “most, houses in these communities are under severe threat and unless someting serious is done about it, anything can happen. It is true that sometimes ago, government did its best to create drainages to check the menance at the satellite towns of Opobo and Nkoro, but it appears it is not enough as the scourge persisted.”
As he puts it, “If you are opportuned to visit these areas in questions, you will certainly weep for the inhabitants due to the menace of erosion in the places which had subjected the people to untold hardship”.
He expressed the belief that with the support of the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, the problems bedeviling these communities will be a thing of the past because there is no amount of self-help project that can check the erosion problem facing the populace of these towns.
Meanwhile, Fubara has commended the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike for his accelerated development of Rivers State in the past two years, especially on road construction, rehabilitation and the face-lifting of other sectors for blissful future, adding that with this lofty strides, the governor has been able to prove the opposition parties and book-makers wrong.
He used the opportunity to appreciate the governor in his office to renovate the abandoned and dilapidated hospitals, schools and other moribund infrastructure across the 23 local Government Areas of the state, including the Opobo General Hospital.
He also appealed to Governor Wike ensure the early completion of the Opobo Unity road under construction by prevailing on the constructors handling it to keep to specification.
The group leader also used the opportunity to enjoin Rivers people no matter their political inclinations to rally round the governor and his team to be able to deliver the dividends of democracy to them.
Bethel Sam Toby
